The Aim of Jesus' Preaching

There was much positive energy in the initial eagerness of the crowds that followed Jesus. He might have harnassed that and doubled or tripled the size of His congregation.

He did not do that. He did the exact opposite - deliberately. Again, He was not interested in increasing the ranks of halfhearted disciples. His preaching had one aim: to declare truth, not to win accolades from the audience. For those who were interested in hearing the truth, He did not make it easier to receive. What He did instead was make it impossible to ignore.

-- p.160, The Jesus You Can't Ignore by John MacArthur